The First Five
by myyysharona
Summary: Little snippets in the first five years of their relationship. Another five years added, now complete.
1. Chapter 1

A/N...I wasn't going to post this, but since my other fic was a little sad I figured I sort-of apologize with this.

This is a happy one. :)

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The first year of their relationship was…difficult. They officially went from friends to girlfriends amidst a shooter targeting cops at Gail's division. Holly's friend was being a stereotypical doctor, but she was used to that and brushed it off. This led to a miscommunication and to what Holly figured was a break-up. The following weeks cemented that when Gail didn't respond to her many attempts at reconciliation. When they did get back together, it turned out that Gail had started the adoption process of the sweetest eight-year-old Holly had ever met. But that had its share of challenges - both bureaucratic and emotional. Not that Holly would ever say it was a bad decision given the outcome.

The second year went a little more smoothly. Gail and Sophie settled in to life together with Holly playing a bigger and bigger role each month. One night in particular will always stand out from that year to Holly. She had been over for dinner, one in which the precocious nine-year-old had made what looked to be a gourmet meal for them all. One of many reasons dinner was usually spent at theirs instead of her apartment. Sophie was excitedly talking about how she had aced her science exam and about who was dating who in her grade when she all of sudden got quiet, a look passed over her eyes as they darted between Gail and Holly, and while using her fork to motion between them nonchalantly said, "Why don't you move in with us? It could be like a permanent sleepover." Holly nearly spit out the sip of wine she had just taken and Gail's eyebrows were nearly in her hairline, but Sophie just asked again. That night had led to a series of serious conversations over the next week between Holly and Gail, Gail and Sophie, Holly, Gail, and Sophie, and a moving truck the following month.

The third year, though, was amazing. After living together for about three months, and trying different chocolate mousse recipes from Sophie every few days for a couple of weeks, Sophie was finally excited about what she deemed was a "nearly perfect" recipe. All that it needed was a little bit more love to become what it was meant to be. Gail was also excited for that night since she was doing the cooking after learning some basics from her daughter - not just the technical but also how to use spices to add subtlety and color for presentation. Holly had supplied the wine, perfectly paired for the chocolate mousse dessert since she had tried it enough times. Dinner was much the same as it was most Sunday nights during the school year. They talked and joked about whatever they did over the weekend and Sophie did her best to convince Gail to giver her a three-day weekend, turning to Holly for support, and this time praising Gail for how far she'd come with her cooking and how much they both had to learn from her daughter. It wasn't until dessert that the atmosphere changed. Sophie brought out individual servings of mousse for Gail and herself, while Holly poured two glasses of wine. As she was sitting back down, Holly realized she didn't have a serving of mousse in front of her yet when Gail brought out a third serving in the shape of a heart with chocolate ganache covering and a ring in the middle reflecting the light. She gasped, and looked back and forth between the two who each had huge smiles on their faces. Gail, with tears in eyes, simply said four words as she got down on one knee, "Will you marry me?" Holly will never know how she got it out, but she had managed to choke out a very happy, "Yes." They kept the ceremony small and were able to call each other wife six months later. During that time, Holly had also officially adopted Sophie as her daughter as well.

The fourth year passed with an eye towards family. Gail was now a detective, Holly was finally giving in to the pressure to take on more of a leadership role at work, and Sophie was starting to take her cooking more seriously. Enough time had passed and her interest was only growing in the culinary arts learning about what it took to become a chef and seeking out camps and classes for it. Gail and Holly had discussed what more they could do to help support her in following her passion. They had found an after-school culinary program that funnels students towards coveted high-school internships in restaurants across Toronto. It was a little pricey, but there was always the hope that with Holly's writing skills and Sophie's genuine passion that she would earn a scholarship. It was also during this year that they discussed the possibility of growing their family. The decision to adopt again was an easy one, as was the decision to keep an open mind and not just look to adopt an infant. When they ran the idea by Sophie she was a little apprehensive at first, thinking maybe they were unhappy with her and were looking to "get a better model" but soon understood and was even excited by the prospect of a new sibling. They started the process later that year.

The fifth year was a year for new beginnings. It took some time, but their family went from three to four. They adopted a little boy, Brandon. He had those big brown eyes that are just filled with emotion and his distrust of adults, even at a young age, could be read all over them. Thankfully he and Sophie bonded pretty quickly and it wasn't long before he finally opened up to Gail and Holly as well. Sophie started at the after-school program even earning a scholarship and her talent in the kitchen skyrocketed. For Sophie's twelfth birthday that year they went to a two-star Michelin restaurant - they figured they would save the four-star as a surprise for high school graduation…if they could wait that long. It was some of the best food any of them had ever had. That was also the night they learned that Brandon was an adventurous eater and later that evening when Gail and Holly were preparing for bed they wondered if he was going to be a chef as well. Just before Holly was fully asleep she heard her wife whisper to no one in particular, "Thank you for my family and the best five years I could have asked for."


	2. Another Five

A/N: This took turn I wasn't planning for it to take. It's sad, I'm really sorry.

I need to learn how write more upbeat things...like continuing The Half.

Warning: character death.

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Five years ago Holly found herself clinging to her wife's hand after her surgery. She remembered the day vividly. She had cursed whoever was calling while she was in the middle of working an urgent case. The hardworking brunette rarely ignored her phone, but for the case of a missing child she was willing to make an exception. After her office phone rang for the third time followed by her personal cell twice, she aggressively pulled off her gloves and answered the phone spitting out, "Dr. Stewart, pathology." She was slightly embarrassed that she let her emotions get in the way of her professionalism, but five times was a bit excessive. The fatherly voice on the other line banished any thought she had towards the urgent case she was working. "Holly, hey. Dov and Chloe are on their way to pick you up." She was grateful that her chair was within arm's reach for her to pull it closer to her so she could sit down. "What do you mean? Pick me up to go where? Is she okay? What happened?" Oliver did his best to calm her down, but didn't give too many details of what had happened. She found out soon enough. Hearing that her snarky blonde cop was in surgery after being stabbed by a suspect cut her to the core and then seeing the cop lying motionless on the bed brought back the reality that her wife's job was dangerous. But seeing the look in their kids' eyes almost broke her. Those first few days were the worst when they weren't sure what was going to happen but when the doctor's finally uttered the words "going to make a full recovery," she let out the breath she had been holding since that first phone call.

Four years ago, Brandon graduated high school and considered committing a Peck mortal sin by joining the fire department. "Gail, what happened to no Peck-spectations?" Holly was more than a little surprised by the reaction Gail had given. Gail had always railed about her childhood and the overwhelming pressure to follow in the Peck family name to become a cop and that she would do no such thing to her own kids, yet the bitter blonde appeared bothered by the fact that he was considering the fire department. "You are a Peck." She declared, "and Pecks are not hose monkeys." Holly nearly spat out the sip of wine she had just taken when she heard those words come out of the blonde's mouth, while Brandon just sat dumb-founded. Gail turned red and covered her face with her hands. "What I meant was, I thought you were going to go to the community college and decide what you wanted from there?" She tried to recover but it was pretty evident what her thoughts were on his becoming a firefighter. Later that night as they were reading in bed Holly brought it up again. "He was worried about what you would say and I told him it wouldn't be a big deal." Gail had the decency to look sheepish, "I know. It's not. I really don't know where that came from. It's just, I think he would really enjoy school and he loves the culinary arts like Sophie. Part of me still wants him to go for it, Sophie said she'd help him with his applications. Besides..." They were getting to the crux of the problem now and Holly prodded her along, "besides, what?" "I don't want this life for him. His wife wondering if he would be coming home, wondering if the next phone call is his chief telling her he's in the hospital." Her voice became small, "Not after what I put you guys through last year." "Oh, honey. It's not all bad. I'm really proud of you, so are Sophie and Brandon. Not everyone can say their Mom helped take down a serial murderer or city bomber." The brunette put her book on the nightstand and gathered up her blonde beauty in her arms. "We're fine. And he will be too. Just please don't freak out if he pursues this path. And talk to him tomorrow." Her cop exhaled loudly. "I'll do my best. I can't promise anything for the rest of the family though."

Three years ago Sophie opened up a restaurant with a couple of friends, called Mama Bears. She and Brandon hosted a surprise anniversary party for Gail and Holly inviting a small group of people from 15 and the Medical Examiner's office. After the delectable entree of lobster ravioli, Sophie and Brandon each brought the room to stomach-clenching laughter and to tears. The elder Pecks even brought Holly to tears with Gail mouthing a silent "Thank You" to them at the end. Steve and Traci brought back some light heartedness, though Gail still felt that pang of sadness for her friend even after all these years, she knew the other woman felt it too and since becoming sisters they shared an even closer bond. They were all there, even Lisa whom Gail had grown to tolerate. The blue-eyed blonde and her brown-eyed beauty never once stopped smiling the entire time. "Babe, how'd we get so lucky?" "I don't know. I had almost given up happiness when I met you." They looked in to each other's eyes and shared a sweet kiss over a dessert of chocolate mousse harkening back to the night Holly said 'Yes.'

Two years ago Gail felt her world come crashing down. She received the call that she dreaded Holly would one day get, never did she expect one to come for her. Holly, Her Holly, Her Nerd, was in the hospital in critical condition and it didn't look good. Several days later, she lost her world, Brandon and Sophie lost a Mom, and the rookie group lost a member. Gail barely made it to the memorial, not wanting to let the reality set in. At the Celebration of Life they had she held back from drinking herself into oblivion not only for her kids sake but also because she didn't want to forget the outpouring of love for her wife. Just thinking about the brunette she would never again meet on this plane, the lopsided smile that would never be returned, or never again feeling of this wonderful person's arms around her waist was torturous. It almost broke her, but the amount of support she received from everyone helped her get through it. Most surprisingly off all though, her mother and father were always there for her even when she didn't realize that all she wanted were her parents.

One year ago Brandon graduated from the Firefighter's Academy and Gail and Sophie couldn't have been prouder. Gail was his biggest fan and defended his choice to her family, taking care to ensure that he didn't hear the worst of it. They even came to accept it one night after what felt like the hundredth discussion when Gail very quietly stated, "It's what Holly would have wanted for him. To follow his dreams." At the graduation, Brandon made sure his uniform was starched, clean, and perfect. He kept with him a family picture taken at the annual firefighter/police officer picnic two years prior to always remind him of why he served. Later that evening, Gail found herself sipping on a glass of Holly's favorite wine in a rocking chair in front of their fireplace. The kids both now officially had full-time jobs and were out celebrating the graduation with others in the class. She was just watching the flames dance and lick at the woods, getting lost in her thoughts. The blonde often found herself talking to Holly in those pensive moments, updating her on what was going on as if she was in the room, reading one of her pathology journals lying down on the couch next to the chair. "You know, I still don't understand much of what's in those journals. I still read them, but it's just not the same. At least I can surprise the pathologists with my knowledge of medical jurisprudence." A tear streaked down her cheek, she poured herself another cup. "He did it. A Peck has now officially joined the dark side. You knew he could do it, you would be so proud of him in his crisp uniform with shiny black shoes. He was top of his class." Another sip. "But with you for a Mom, there was no way he was slacking. He misses you." Another gulp, another tear. "Sophie's fiancée is finally growing on me. He's not so bad, you were right about him too. They're getting married next year, if only you could see them." A choked sob, another cup. "Her dress is stunning. She misses you too." Another tear. "The other rookies miss your parties, they don't say so but I can tell. You were the best hostess around. Ollie and Celery have had me over for dinner monthly." Another tear, the last sip. "You know Hols. I really miss you too. I'll always love you with all my head and all my heart." As the fire died down, she finally knew that they would be alright, she would survive, and she drifted off to sleep covered in the fleece blanket Holly got her for their first anniversary.


End file.
